Rev. Barbara Meyers' Ministry

Quarterly Report to MPUUC Board of Trustees

December 2009

 

To the MPUUC Board of Trustees,

 

The following is a list of the activities I have engaged in during the last quarter as part of my affiliated community ministry.  Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

 

Yours in faith,

 

 

 

Rev. Barbara Meyers

 

Education

Classes and Seminars Given

• Held half-day training for two new Pastoral Associates.
• Prepared training for monthly Pastoral Associates meetings.
• Distributed my document "Mental Health Information for Ministers" to UUMA members using the chat line. The document is also on the UUMA website for download. Received many favorable comments and some suggestions for other things that might be added to it.

Classes, Conferences and Seminars Taken and Planned

• Attended second intensive week of classes for my Spiritual Director's Certificate at the Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley. I now have begun my practicum working with one client for 6 months.
• Port Townsend's UU Church has invited me to give a workshop plus worship service on the weekend of January 31. They have active members of NAMI in their congregation who pushed for this.
• At the request of the UUA's Mountain Desert District, made a proposal for a week-end of mental health workshops plus a worship service. This would happen in the spring of next year.
• CIMH Webinar: "County Strategies for People without Coverage and other Vulnerable Populations" presented by Allan Rawland, MSW, ACSW, Behavioral Health Director, County of San Bernardino on Tuesday, December 1, 2009
• Participated in the SAMHSA teleconference "History of the Mental Health Consumer Movement," December 17.

Retreats Attended

Attended the UUMA's Convocation in Ottawa, Canada. Four-hour seminar to UU Ministers on "Embracing Mental Health in our Ministries." Very well received.

Healing

Reaching Across

Continued compensated job at Reaching Across organization, for quarter-time work. Attend Monday support group meetings, two Interfaith Support Groups per month, most Wednesday group activities, and Friday craft days.

Support Groups

• Continued co-leading interfaith support group for people with depression and sadness.
• Continued to recommend support group for families of those with mental illness.

Pastoral Associates

• Continue to prepare training materials for Pastoral Associates at the monthly meetings. Made several calls/visits to congregational members, at home and in hospital.

Mental Health Committee

• The community met to plan for the next church year.
• An after church event was held for Mental Health Week on October 11.
• Six people from the mental health committee sang to the patients at the psychiatric ward of Eden Hospital in Castro Valley on December 16.

Priestly

• Worship leader on November 29 on the subject of "Resilience."
• Attended monthly Pastoral Associates meetings, and prepared training for each meeting.

Social Justice

Community Awareness

• Mental Health Matters Public Access TV Show
  • Taping of shows has been suspended with the closure of the Comcast Fremont studio. Awaiting approval by the city to resume shooting shows at Chabot College in Hayward.
  • Shows continue to be broadcast throughout Alameda County on Comcast TV as well as being available from anywhere on the internet.
• Mental Health pages on MPUUC web site continue to be widely accessed.

UUA Accessibility Group

• Maintained the website for the new UU accessibility group Equual Access.
• Mental Health Caucus under the auspices of Equual Access. Status: We have identified 6 leaders of this group who will work together to plan activities. The first activity is to get a grant so that we can have an in-person meeting.

Books Read

• 109 East Palace - Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos by Jennet Conant. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. The fascinating story of the founding of Los Alamos emphasizing the way of life in the secret city and Dorothy McKibbin, the woman who welcomed scientists when they went to Santa Fe.
• True Love - A Practice for Awakening the Heart by Thich Nhat Hanh, Boston: Shambala Publications, 1997. How to practice loving another, from the Buddhist perspective.
• The Tipping Point - How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell, New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2000. A very interesting study of what causes small things to make a big difference: (1) The right selection of a key small number of people to carry the message (2) Something that causes a idea to stick in the mind and (3) The right context where people will be willing and able to hear the message.
• Play of Consciousness by Swami Muktananda. The story of the spiritual life of the man who became the leader of the Siddha Yoga movement. I was taught his mantra by my psychiatrist who was one of his devotees.
• My Life in France, by Julia Child. Memoir of the "French Chef" with a prodigious memory for meals and food preparation.
• A Time To Heal - Protecting Children and Ministering to Sex Offenders by Rev. Debra W. Haffner. Lifequest, 2005. Excellent guide for congregations in how to deal with sex offenders.
• The Road Less Traveled - A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth , by M. Scott Peck, M.D. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978. Reread this classic work on psychotherapy which respects the spiritual dimension.
• Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh, Riverhead Books, 1995. Both the Buddha and Christ live in the hearts of current day believers and guide them to have virtuous lives. There are many similarities between the lives that the two faiths would have their believers live.

Personal

• Need to continually work at life balance and stress management.
• Organized a wonderful reunion of grade school friends from Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Other

• Met with Community Ministry Advisory Committee every quarter
• Chaired MPUUC Mental Health Committee which meets every 6-8 weeks
• Attended MPUUC Board meetings.
• Elected for a third year as secretary to the Tri Cities Interfaith Council at its monthly meetings.